Jimmy Garoppolo passes test in Patriots' preseason opener

As of Thursday night's Patriots preseason opener, Jimmy Garoppolo was set to be the team's starting quarterback in Week 1 of the regular season.

Although no one will confuse what he did in almost three full quarters against the Packers with Tom Brady, New England's coaching staff should feel more confident about what it can do on offense without Brady.

Given that most of the Patriots' starting offensive line and all of their key wide receivers and tight ends didn't play vs. Green Bay, Garoppolo made the most of what he had. He posted passable overall numbers (20 of 30, 159 yards, one interception) and improved with each dropback.

The good

Hanging in the pocket. On his first pass attempt of the game, Garoppolo faced a blitz by the Clay Matthews-less Packers. He didn't panic. He trusted his reads and delivered a pretty sideline strike to wide receiver Josh Boyce to convert on third-and-7. He was at his best when working uptempo, no-huddle and out of the shotgun.

Not trying to be Brady. Garoppolo is a second-year player, but given his small-school status and limited NFL game action, he's really an extended rookie. He didn't try to prove he can be a big-timer starter for the Patriots in the future, but rather that he's what they need right now: someone who can manage the offensive talent in the short term. He went through his progressions well and was content to settle for checkdowns.With Jonas Gray and LeGarrette Blount in the backfield, New England can go power-run heavy in the early weeks.

Quick decision-making. Garoppolo struggled with this in his up-and-down training camp practices , but once he got into a rhythm Thursday he was surprisingly good in this area. The Patriots had to be very pleased.

The bad

Underthrowing the deep ball. Boyce isn't exactly a great route-runner, and he was either a step behind or a step ahead of Garoppolo's throws for most of the night. Then again, Garoppolo didn't consistently put enough air under the ball and was inconsistent with his touch. The Patriots were smart to keep letting him take those shots to learn from experience.

Forcing the ball into coverage. A couple of other balls could have been intercepted, but Garoppolo was burned on this throw when he locked onto Boyce and Packers rookie cornerback LaDarius Gunter made the pick.

Taking seven sacks. When the Patriots huddled and slowed things down, Garoppolo had a tough time with the heat. Part of the reason was the combination of backup linemen and third- and fourth-team receivers who couldn't get open quickly enough. Still, he took too many lumps. Look for the Patriots to adjust by going to shorter drops and trying to get the dropbacks down to around 25 instead of 37.

The incomplete

Connecting with the tight ends. Garoppolo's throws to Boyce, Brandon Gibson and Chris Harper will have better results when they're intended for Brandon LaFell, Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. The screen game should also be prominent with White or whoever their primary receiving back is. Remember also that Garoppolo was missing his two biggest security blankets, Rob Gronkowski and 6-7 newcomer Scott Chandler. Receivers with bigger catch radius will take pressure off Garoppolo to be perfect with his throws, something Garoppolo had to be to move the ball downfield Thursday night.